My wife doesnt quite understand FI, but she is from an Eastern European background and understands saving money (Which is why we are a pretty good match).
We have made a total of ~$76,000 advance payments on the mortgage. Everytime I have received a raise, I immediately increased the regular mortgage payment. We used to have ~30K emergency fund in TFSA (not sure about the American equivalent - essentially you pay no tax on profits from that money.), but I thought it was better spent on the mortgage.
The car budgets ideally cover gas, maintenance, licencing, depreciation, insurance, etc. I work for a consulting firm, and it basically covers my car costs. My wife is a new teacher, and cant really pick where she works right now.
Home maintenance - This is a budget item. We put this much aside every month to cover home maintenance costs... however after reading MMM, I am now thinking about how I can do the improvements.
Clothing - We live in Burlington, Ontario, which is a very nice area. The Value Village usually has quite a selection of brand name dress shirts in like new condition for $10. Dress pants, coats, shoes are much harder to come by used.
Hydro - My wife loves a cool house. Great in the winter, terrible in the summer (which she has off being a teacher).
The way we have been managing our money is living off my income and saving most of hers. I dont think it is working that great, but we have made some changes and we will see.
Thank you!
